2010 Yearly Report

The 2010 Coburg 24 Hour Carnival was expanded in
concept and
spread over 2 weekends, with the 6 Hour events being held on Sunday
7th March and the 24 Hour events being held on the
weekend of 17th - 18th April.

The 6 hour races had been held 6 weeks earlier on
Sunday 7
March. Of the field of 35 entrants, there were 14 walkers and,
while few of our top walkers were there, it was still an enthusiastic
group of participants, ably led by centurion member Terry O'Neill.
Special mentions to Alex Poore
who came second in the men's event at 71
years of age and to Michelle Thompson
who won the women's walk in her first ever competitive walk (Michelle
is a well credentialled ultra runner) and broke the Australian W40 6
Hour record into
the bargain. The placings were as follows

The Australian Centurions was pleased to
see Peter Bennett (C 24) reach the 100 mile mark for the ninth time in
his career but he was the only walker
to do so, alas, we have no new Centurions to report so far this year.

A total of 35 walkers and runners contested the
24 Hour weekend with the starter's gun being fired at 10AM on the
Saturday morning in sunny and warm conditions. As the Melbourne
temperature quickly soared towards 30oC, competitors were faced with
the daunting prospect of some 7 hours under full sun before any relief
could be expected. Although most started conservatively, the effect was
soon obvious and by 4PM, the scene was reminiscent of the final few
hours on a Sunday morning rather than the 6 Hour mark. When the day
finally gave way to night, most were able to respond but for many the
damage was done and the night saw a number of key withdrawals or
extended rest periods. Most were back on the track on the Sunday
morning for the final few hours and a good crowd was on hand to witness
the final gun sound at 10AM.

Peter Bennett,
with
a
PB of 214km, was expected to be in a class of his
own in the men's walk and so it proved. Passing the 6 Hour mark with
51.750km, he was already some 5km ahead of fellow centurion walkers Ian
Valentine with 46.368km and Terry
O'Neill with 45.540km. By the 12 hour
mark he had covered 96.876km as against 87.768km for Ian and 81.972km
for Terry. But the second half saw him slow like so many of the other
competitors and his eventual winning distance of 171.968km was well
below his expectations. But it was still his 9th walk in excess of 100
miles and it did allow us to see this wonderful walker for the first
time at Coburg. Behind him, devastation reigned as the field imploded
with experienced ultra walkers dropping by the wayside. Amongst the
carnage, John Timms, better
known for his running exploits, kept his
eyes straight ahead and worked his way through the field, eventually
finishing second with a very creditable 142.162km. Doug McKay, another
walker who managed to keep going, took third with 133.983km.

Like in the run, only two starters toed the line in
the women's 24 Hour
walk, centurion walker Karyn O'Neill and
former
ultra
running star Dawn
Parris. It was Dawn who strode to an early lead, covering
42.642km in
the opening 6 hours to lead Karyn by some 6km. By the 12 hour mark, she
had increased her lead to 8km with a split of 79.488km. But soon after
midnight, she stopped for a rest, allowing Karyn to take the lead after
another couple of hours and pass the 100km mark first, thus winning the
associated Australian 100km walk championship. Dawn, now back on the
track, slowly clawed the lead back as daybreak came. She then went on
to win with 134.119km while Karyn took a number of breaks, content to
stroll through to 121.263km.

24
Hour Walk

1

Peter Bennett

QLD

171.968 km

2

John Timms

VIC

142.162 km

3

Doug McKay

VIC

133.983 km

4

Ian Valentine

QLD

119.690 km

5

Steve Jordan

VIC

114.285 km

6

Louis Commins

NSW

105.126 km

7

Terry O'Neill

VIC

82.111 km

8

Rudolf Skrucany

VIC

72.573 km

9

Clarrie Jack

VIC

30.273 km

24
Hour Walk Female

1

Dawn Parris

VIC

134.119 km

2

Karyn O'Neill

VIC

121.263 km

AUSTRALIAN 100 KM WALK
CHAMPIONSHIPS

Men

1

Peter Bennett

QLD

12:24:44

2

Ian
Valentine

QLD

14:01:30

3

John Timms

VIC

15:45:10

Women

1

Karyn O'Neill

VIC

17:56:18

2

Dawn Parris

VIC

18:18:35

CENTURION WALK QUALIFIERS

Peter Bennett

22:01:39

C24

The Jack Webber
Trophy was
awarded to Peter Bennett for
the most meritorious Centurion
performance on the day